Wow
by penagain
Summary: Addendum: I decided to make this a one stop shop for one shots. Say that three times fast. Update: He's just so perfect it makes me want to hurl.
1. Wow

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the movie, characters or songs, but I took some liberties with the scenes. Enjoy

She had been getting out of a cab when he pulled up. He knew she was the dark artsy type right away with her giant headphones around her neck. She was a beautiful girl who didn't want to be called beautiful and maybe didn't even know she was. He serenaded her with his air guitar and when the car jerked forward to pull away he felt his breath catch. "Wow." College was going to be amazing.

* * *

He was pretty surprised to see her turning up in all these unexpected moments of his first month of college life. Some of it made sense the more he thought about it. She obviously had an interest in music so the radio station was probably a natural choice but he hadn't expected her to be at the acapella auditions. He watched her with interest as she tapped and manipulated the cup to create a beat; all the while a soulful melody escaping her lips. The audience was silent when her song came to an end, no doubt they were in shock. He had never heard a voice like hers before. "Wow."

* * *

The Riff off was spontaneous and fun. He had seen an opening as soon as Staci got into the rhythm of her song and took it. He serenaded the crap out of her, but she didn't seem particularly phased by his advances. She was, however, clearly entertained by them. And then suddenly she was there in front of him, spitting rhymes and giving him eargasms with her mellow accent. It was so unexpected. It was so hot. He let out a breathy "Wow." This girl never ceased to amaze him.

* * *

He had listened to her messages, but he just couldn't go there again with her. He couldn't restart a friendship knowing she was just going to push him away again. She had to know he was done being her doormat. So it surprised him when she was at his door, apologizing for her behavior. "Wow seriously? You think I am mad at you because you yelled at me?" She really didn't get it. He got up on his soap box and told her exactly what her problem was; what their problem was. She honestly didn't know, and he felt sad for her. But she had bigger things to figure out and he couldn't keep throwing himself in front of her bus waiting for her to sort them out.

* * *

They sounded phenomenal. He could already tell she had something to do with the Bella's new look and he could recognized her underlying beats in the song they performed. Then he heard it. Simple Minds "Don't you." He looked up and she was strutting down a runway made by the Bellas. She was putting their relationship right out there on the Lincoln Center stage. He turned wanting to share the thought with someone but realized no one knew because it was only something he shared with her. "Wow" he muttered, realizing she was singing that song just for him.

* * *

She was perfect in every way. Those cherry lips, her eyes and the sweet sound of her voice. "Wow" he whispered in a feather quiet voice as he touched his lips to her forehead. "I don't think I'll ever love anyone more than you."

"Hey!" He gazed up at Beca in her hospital gown with an amused smirk on her face. She glowed with motherhood.

"Ok, maybe it's a tie." Beca gave him smile in agreement as he leaned down to kiss her before turning his attention back to their daughter. She absolutely took his breath away.

The End


	2. Sing to Me

AN: So I am going to make this a multi-bird one stone kind of fic. A place to post one shots...that is if i can muster up any more ideas. I will probably put any M rated ones under Must be Drugs. But nothing else there yet. Enjoy.

* * *

Sing to Me

He thought it was rather ridiculous that she would not sing to him. He was her boyfriend after all and that entitled him to certain privileges such as private smiles, personal space invasion, and his own side of the bed. He had thought that personal serenades would be included in that list, but after having teased her about how romantic her grand gesture at ICCA had been , her mouth became a musical vault to him. While Beca did admit it had been meant as a grand romantic gesture, and yes she had serenaded him to win his heart, she now held that it was entirely unnecessary for any more embarrassing acts of affection seeing as how they were finally together. It tortured him that he didn't have any greater access to her singing voice than the general population.

In truth that was probably the real reason she would not sing to him. They were far beyond being feeling embarrassed between them, but not beyond being stubborn for the sake of teasing.

Jesse constantly concocted ways to lure her into singing to him. At first he just tried to stop by the Bella's practices. He figured it was one of his rights as the boyfriend, but he was wrong. Beca had convinced the girls that he was there to spy on their material. Not only would she refrain from singing, but not a single lick would be heard from any Bella while he was in the room. "You can watch us perform when we kick your ass on stage, just like the rest of the Treble-nerds." She grinned at him from the stage with all the Bellas standing behind her, arms crossed defensively. He huffed and made his exit, knowing he would need more to be more creative in his quest.

He then tried a diplomatic approach. He invited the Bellas to duet with the Trebles. He orchestrated a mashup song which required him to sing banter with Beca and their part ended in a harmonized note. He was surprised when the Bella leader agreed, saying it would be a good for the Arts department fundraiser. But when he came by her apartment to practice, she just curled into him on the couch, gave him a pat on the chest and said in her best gangster rap voice "Don't worry, I got that shit locked down." She really did too. The night of the show, without a single note sung in his presence before then, she matched pitch perfectly with him.

His most devious plan involved sneaking in on Beca in the shower. He knew she sang there based on a rather interesting comment he overheard Chloe make one day. He was unsuccessful. She hadn't done anything more than hum before she caught him in the bathroom. As punishment she pulled him into the shower with her, clothes and all. Although eventually the clothes became a non-issue. He still continues to try and catch her in the shower, though not really for the same initial reason as that first time.

After that first year of their relationship he exhausted his ideas. She would not sing to him (save riff offs and competitions). Not for birthdays, not for anniversaries, not even for withheld sex (but he didn't have it in him to hold out for very long). He did not really "give up" on his pursuit, after all he never gives up on Beca Mitchell, but after that first year the attempts were only half hearted at best.

So he really had not suspected anything when Beca called him into her studio one afternoon of their last year at Barden.

"Jesse!"

"What?"

"I need your opinion on this track!"

"Just a sec."

"It can't wait!"

He rolled his eyes, a habit he picked up from her over the years, and finished taping up box 1 of 3 labeled DVDs bound for LA. "Keep your pants on princess, I'm coming. Or don't either is cool with me!" He strolled into her mixing studio where she sat in her oversized ergonomic chair, earphones around her neck.

"Sit," She commanded as she got up and pushed him down into her chair. She turned up the volume on her sound board and the melody of Katy Perry's "The one that got away" came flowing through joined by David Guetta and Usher's "Without you." Beca leaned against the desk, hands in the pockets of his Treble hoodie she had stolen to wear, watching him intently for signs of his approval.

He obliged, "This is really good…"

She held a hand up to silence him. "Oh right here, I was thinking of adding in lyrics here." She nodded her head with the beat then began singing

_I won't run, I won't fly, I will never make it by without you, without you_  
_Don't say no no no no no, just say yea yea yea_  
_So baby don't worry , you are my only ….I think I want to marry you_

She crawled into his lap, straddling him and pulled a small jewelry box from the pocket of her hoodie. She opened it to reveal an engagement ring. An engagement he had bought three weeks ago.

"You've been snooping." He was suppressing a grin as he wound his arms around her waist.

"You didn't do a good job. You hid it where you hide the extra buttery popcorn." She held it to his chest as if to tell him it was time to do his part.

He sighed and took the box from her, plucking the ring from its protective cushion. "You know I had something planned" he said as he grabbed her left hand.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Of course you did, and I am sure it was nauseatingly romantic. Something you would happily tell all our friends about and would have me beet red the entire time. But, I've never needed grand romantic gestures the way you do." He placed the ring in its rightful place on her left hand and she pressed her lips firmly to his.

"How very rom/com of you to sing a marriage proposal to me. Some would say that was a grand romantic gesture," She scrunched her nose as soon as he made the comment and he knew she was closing the musical vault again. "Shit, no singing?" She pursed her lips tight and shook her head. He shrugged in response, "I'll just wait until the aca-children arrive. You'll have to sing them."

Beca laughed, "That will be many many MANY years from now nerd" and leaned in to kiss him again.

Ta-da! The end.

* * *

Note: If you want to get a gist of the music youtube KeeWayne Wanna Marry You

Disclaimer: I do not own the movie, characters or any of the songs involved. Neither does KeeWayne but damn good work.


	3. Daylight

**Warning! This is not fluff, its exactly the opposite, Angsty and sad. There is no happy ending here and I am setting myself up for flames everywhere but I had to write it. So don't read if you want a happy ending. This was inspired by Maroon 5's Daylight. I didn't put the lyrics in but you can youtube the song to see what its about if you live under a rock. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own pitch perfect of Maroon 5**

* * *

The baseline pumped away in her ears as she stared down at her fingers now tangled in the cord of her headphones. She was twenty minutes into this particular mix when her bedroom door swung open and Jesse came in, out of breath and holding a box of pizza.

She read his lips saying "sorry" as he put the box down on her desk and kissed her temple. She pulled down her headphones just in time to catch him add, "Packing took longer than I thought it would."

Beca gave him a weak smile, "Well you sort of have a lot of crap. We should sign you up for that show Hoarders." Though her remark had potential, it lacked conviction.

A pity smirk was all she earned for him. "Yeah, well I think you have to find a dead cat somewhere to make that show so I probably don't make the cut." He pulled out paper plates and placed a slice of pizza on each for them before settling himself on the bed next to her. The air was heavy with their unspoken words as he ate his pizza and Beca simply pulled the toppings off one by one, only half of them destined for her mouth. "Since when do you not like olives?" His words did nothing to break the tension.

"I'm not really hungry." She wiped her hands on the paper towels they used as napkins and let it drop to her plate.

With a sigh Jesse did the same and gathered both their plates to put them back on the desk. "Come here." He leaned back on the headboard of her bed and pulled her to him, sitting her between his legs. Strong arms wrapped around her tiny waist as he buried his face into her hair. "I'm sorry it has to be this way. I just want us to have this night just the way we normally are, the way things should be." She could feel his eyebrows furrow in frustration against the back of her neck. "I love you Beca."

She blinked fast, trying to suppress the oncoming tears. "I know." Her voice croaked as she spoke, but she couldn't find the voice to tell him she loved him back, though she had said it a dozen times before.

He sighed again, his hot breath trailing down her spine giving her the counter effect of the chills. He finally raised his head from the crook of her neck and mumbled, "Why don't we just watch a movie?" She silently nodded, feeling a nauseous pit forming in her core. Jesse reached his long arms over to her desk without shifting their position and grabbed her laptop. After handing it to her, he reached down for his backpack and pulled out a few movies, settling on Gladiator. They repositioned on the bed more comfortably, his arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his chest tucked under his chin.

While Beca already had a poor attention span for long movies, she paid even less attention to this one now. She only vaguely registered the battle scenes as she tried desperately not to let her mind wander. But she could not control it just as she could not control the series of events that led her to this moment of sadness.

_Three weeks prior_

_The base line pumped away in her ears as she worked on her laptop laying down new tracks for the station as she waited for Jesse, who was late. She had been at it for twenty minutes before the door swung open and he entered her bedroom looking pale and ill. She pulled down her headphones around her neck, "You look like shit" she stated matter of factly. He came to kiss her on the temple before sitting on the edge of the bed. She knew something was wrong instantly the way his back was stiff as a board and his hands fidgeted on his lap. "What the hell is going on?"_

_His downcast eyes rose to look at her and she saw nothing but regret in them. "I have something important to tell you." He started his tale. A tale of a young Jesse Swanson in his senior year of highschool, bright, mediocrely popular, in the drama club and delusionally wrapped up in his girlfriend Kate, the girl he lost his virginity to. They were safe every time. When they broke up in March the year they would graduate, she had began seeing Tony a student at the local community college rather quickly. He had not heard anything from her since graduation, though they had parted on good terms. He had not known she was pregnant. Jesse tells Beca that Kate is a good person, that she's not trying to pull one over on him. She really thought the baby was Tony's, but now that he is just over one year old and looks nothing like Tony, he has left her. She had sent Jesse a picture of the little boy, and he thinks it does look like himself, but he doesn't dare show Beca the photo. He believes Kate when she says there was no one else it could be. She offers to get him a paternity test. Jesse had not decided yet if he was going to take it._

_**That was the beginning of the end. Her Barden University love story began to fall apart at the seams. She was angry at first. At him, at Kate, at the world. She took it out on him by ignoring his calls. She took it out on the Bellas by shutting them out and being a dictator at practice. She took it out on the station with particularly angsty mixes. But then her anger began to subside as she realized Jesse hadn't done anything wrong. He lost his virginity to a highschool sweetheart. He used condoms every time. He could not have known. Now he was just trying to do the right thing and be a father to the son that science had proved was his. So a week after the news broke she asked him to meet her at the station and told him she still loved him and that she wanted to spend their last few days experiencing all that she was about to lose.**_

Which brought them to this night. Their last night. They had spent most of the past two weeks eating at their favorite restaurants, watching their favorite movies and most importantly wrapped in each others' arms. Spring break started tomorrow and Jesse would not be coming back to Barden. He had all his units transferred to a local community college and got a job at his cousin's book store so he could help Kate raise Joshua. That was his name.

Beca tried not to wonder about Jesse's future with Kate and Joshua, but could not help it in just that moment. Would Jesse fall back in love with Kate and eventually ask her to marry him, living out a perfect suburban marriage? Or would he marry her because it was 'the right thing to do'? Would Joshua grow up in a loveless marriage which his parents just tolerated each other, much like her own? She knows Jesse would never leave, not like her father did. She feared she would become just a speck in his past, remembered as that alternative girl Jesse experimented with in college. And yet she did not want him remembering her with regret for the rest of his life. She closed her eyes, willing the tears back so that Jesse would not know she was crying. She tried again to focus on the rumble of his voice as he recited the movie, wishing she could escape the way he did into the plotlines.

Yet Jesse wasn't immersed in the movie. He recited the lines more out of habit, but his entire attention was focused on the girl in his arms. He committed his every being to memorizing the warmth of her hand on his abdomen, the way her stray hairs tickled his collarbone, and the ripple of his shirt shifting under her soft breath. He may never remember what movie he watched his last night with Beca Mitchell, but he will always remember feeling her jaw tightening against his chest just before the dampness of her tears seeped through his shirt.

He brought his hand up to run his fingers through her hair, nudging her forehead from under his chin to make her look up at him. Her naked eyes were brimming with tears. He kissed her forehead and whispered, "I'm sorry." He wasn't even sure exactly what about. Sorry for having to leave her. Sorry for thinking he knew what love was before Beca . In some ways he was sorry he had broken down her walls only to break her heart a year later. Would she have been better off without him, he wondered. Or had he opened her up to letting herself be vulnerable enough to fall in love with someone else? The thought of her with someone else filled him with selfish jealously. But he wanted her to be happy.

His internal argument was cut short as Beca wove a hand up his neck and stretched to meet her lips to his. Her kiss was forceful and desperate, tasting faintly of the salt from her tears. He kissed her back with urgency, pulling her body against his as close as he could manage. Desire filled them both as they knew this would be the last time together. It was passionate but unrushed as Jesse's hands explored every inch of Beca's body while they made love. None of it was unchartered territory for him but he needed this memory of her to last. When it was over they both collapsed back onto the bed, physically and emotionally exhausted. Without any hesitation he pulled her body into his, molding himself to her despite their damp heated skin.

Eventually Beca was unable to fight her body's instinct to sleep and she drifted off into a heavy slumber. Jesse however resisted it with his every being. He wanted this night to last forever and sleep would only expedite the arrival of tomorrow. The rising sun would mark the end of night, and the end of them. He wasn't ready. So he watched her sleep, tracing a gentle finger tip along the patterns of her tattoos.

Beca woke to the light streaming through her window and felt an immediate sense of wrongness about the morning. Her eyes felt heavy and swollen with the tears she shed the night before and as her mind cleared to remember the significance of the day she turned to see she was lying in bed alone. She spread a hand across the mattress feeling that it was already cold since he left. Looking down at herself she saw she was wearing one of Jesse's Barden t-shirts. She had not stirred at all when he manipulated it onto her body. She had not even felt the kiss he left on her temple and the gentle graze of his hand against her cheek as he whispered his love for her and said his goodbye. She shut her eyes tight, wishing she had said goodbye but grateful all the same that she didn't. She reached behind her to grab her headphones from the desk and pressed the play button letting the baseline drown her sorrow. She pulled the covers over her head and buried her face into Jesse's pillow which still smelled of his shampoo. She wasn't ready to face the daylight. She wasn't ready to face a life without Jesse Swanson.

Fin.


	4. Tuning In

We now interrupt our regularly scheduled story telling for a special message from our muse, well one of our muses.

"Hi readers and writers, Beca Mitchell here. I want to take a chunk of my airtime to pick a bone with you. Sorry to those regular listeners of Barden Beats, but this shouldn't take any more than 15 mins or so. So listen in if you want, tune in later or listen to the tracks I laid out on the website for a while.

Back to the point at hand. I've been perusing the site a bit and generally noticed a common theme in the BeccaxJesse section and that is you all seem to worship Jesse Swanson and that he can do no wrong! So I have set aside some of my precious airtime, which you know I worked incredibly hard to get, to set the record straight and try to stop (if not at least slow) that ever swelling ego of his. It's quite big enough for a nerd of his caliber, it doesn't need your help.

Number one. So you know how we find it so endearing how obsessed he is with movies? The cute way he recites the lines? How he fist pumps as if the characters could see him supporting their cause? While all good in moderation, sometimes it gets out of hand. One time after we finished watching Avatar (super long by the way), I told him I wanted to work on a few tracks and he nodded saying he could keep himself busy. Presumably by putting in another movie. Did he? Nope. Menu, special features, watch the movie with commentary. He watched it again! Immediately! With commentary! Are you kidding me? And after 50 minutes of mixing I figured, break time, dark room and well you guys know…you write about it all the time. But when my advances got in the way of the screen he hushed me and patted the seat beside him. What sane twenty something year old chooses a movie he just watched in its entirety (probably for the 4th time) over play time with his girl friend. I swear sometimes he is mental.

Speaking of movies, when we actually go out to the theater to see something opening night he gets an extra jumbo popcorn, extra butter. Enough to feed a family of five, but oh no, that's not enough for Jesse Swanson to share with his girlfriend Beca. If Beca wants popcorn, Beca needs to get her own. If Beca gets her own, Jesse's mouth will lay claim to it like the New World.

And popcorn is not just a problem at the theater. It's also a problem at home. He drops it everywhere. Couch cushions, sure I understand. Everyone drops food in the couch cushions. But what was it doing behind the TV? And on my CD shelf? And you bet I was ecstatic when I stole his Treble hoodie, shoved my hands in the pockets just to have my fingers smelt like butter all day, despite several hand washes.

That brings me to clothes and laundry. I learned after our first month as a "couple" that Jesse really had no idea how to do laundry. He must have had a good enough supply of clothes to last freshman year that I didn't actually notice. But the more time I spend with him the more I notice things like "that shirt is a bit tighter, either he is getting fat (and that's not it) or he shrunk it" and find myself thinking "was that shirt always pink?" Endearingly cute at first, then downright embarrassing when he starts sporting a mid-driff.

Ok now I know what you all are thinking. These are relatively petty little things. Quirks that we all have but over all Jesse is still the best catch in the world. He is sweet, good looking, can sing, can dance (sort of), and he's not shy about his emotions. I'm plus or minus about that last one at times. But it's get serious time. Let me introduce you to a REAL character flaw.

Sometimes Jesse lacks drive.

What do I mean by that? I mean that we all know Jesse wants to compose music for movies when he grows up, but he has no plan to achieve that short of watching movies all the time and learning how to play their songs on the piano. Sure, he can be motivated in some things. He took on the leadership of the Trebles and spends lots of time thinking about the sets and how to arrange the songs. I suppose that is working on composing, but it's not quite scoring music for a movie is it? Unless we are talking soundtrack to some movie about college acapella that is.

We are graduating in a few months you know? And I, well WE actually, are bound for L.A. I have a paid internship at a small indie label and Fat Amy knows a bartender at a moderately popular club that hooked me up and I can spin a few nights a week for extra cash. Jesse didn't quite have a plan though. He said he was too busy graduating and winning ICCA this year to think of that.

But I had a plan. About two months ago I saw this flyer ad in the Union looking for actors for a student film. I called up the guys making the movie and told them Jesse was awesome at developing sound tracks for movies. They kind of already knew about Jesse as part of the Trebles, so when I told them he does a lot of the arrangements, they were impressed. So I got him the gig. I even lent him my equipment to lay down tracks. I don't think you understand what degree of sacrifice that was on my part. Don't say I never did anything selfless in our relationship.

It was a little slow at first. And took a lot of pushing to get him to finish the first scene they wanted. Lots of physical incentives were utilized. But they loved it. I'm going to regret saying this on the air, because it's going to become a sound bite that inevitably will become his new ring tone, but I was really proud of him.

He started working on the project a lot harder after that. So I guess when I said he has no drive I really meant sometimes he takes a bit to get into gear and just needs to give it a little gas. I took him to go buy his own equipment and computer programs. He was starting to monopolize mine and I got things to do too you know. I have this whole on air gig which is more of a no-talk radio show unlike what it is right at this very moment.

Hmmm…ok a message just came through the Barden Beats web-page. Someone wants to know how a pair of college seniors can afford thousands of dollars worth of sound equipment and computer programs? Well listener, you are right, we didn't skimp on the crappy stuff. You know how I get when it comes to music. I got the money by returning an extravagant Christmas present that Jesse bought me and got this for him in return.

Anyway, so the project is almost done and … Oh we have a caller. Ok, the caller wants to go on the air. I don't even know how to do that. This button here? Line 1? It's who? Oh crap. Ok. So listeners, I have a caller demanding to go on the air. Readers you know Chloe. Chloe are you there?

_"Yea Beca I'm here. Hi everyone! Just so you know I love the sex-bomb character you guys are writing me as. Anyway, Beca! Don't just glaze over the important parts! Tell them what you returned ."_

I don't think that's really their business Chloe.

_"It's a huge deal. Tell them"_

It was just jewelry.

_"It's not just jewelry. Come on Beca. You are yelling at them about misportraying your relationship with Jesse but you won't even tell them the facts."_

Fine! It was an engagement ring okay? I returned the engagement ring. Oh crap. See what you did Chloe. The lines are going insane. So is the webpage!

_"You don't just return an engagement ring Beca!"_

I can't think with all the phones ringing. Ok people look, calm down. Yes we took the ring back to the store, but that's because I don't need a ring. Especially not an expensive one. We are going to use the extra money to get a nicer place in LA, fly Jesse out next month for interviews and also take a trip for the two of us to Park City Utah for Sundance. His film won't be ready in time, but maybe next year we think. I don't need a reminder of my commitment to him. He absolutely knows I am ready to marry him. I've gotten a lot better at telling him these things.

_"It was such a pretty ring Beca."_

Yes, yes it was. But we are going to use that money to build Jesse's career first. Now let me get back to my speech so I can get back to my tunes. So yes. Jesse and I are engaged. Despite all his imperfections and I think I have made it pretty clear there are many, I still love him. And there is the second sound bite for his ring tone. I just wanted you guys to know. Yes he is amazing just as you all portray him. But for my sake, since I have vowed to put up with his ego for as long as we both shall live, please throw in some imperfections every now and again. Help a sister out. That's enough talk now.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

* * *

I've been trying to write this one for a while...took some real thought to giving him a character flaw. Anyhow Disclaimer: I do not own them!


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